does cold water boil faster than hot water?
I’m married to a scientist (chemist/physicist), and I once told him about this urban legend about cold water boiling faster than hot, and asked if it was true. Then he started rubbing his temples. And he put his head down on the counter and started muttering something I couldn’t understand. Then after he gained his composure he reminded me that water boils because its temperature is elevated to its boiling point. Cold water requires a higher temperature elevation than warm water does, and therefore will take longer to heat to boiling. He laughed at me for a couple days on that one. But I think it’s a great question worth asking especially when you hear this claim so much!
